. 31 October 1945, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, England. Ballard attended the same secondary modern school as Cliff Richard before joining the Daybreakers, the backing group to Buster Meikle, another local singer (and future mainstay of Unit Four Plus Two). By 1963, with Daybreakers drummer Robert Henrit (b. 2 May 1944, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England), Ballard was a member of Adam Faith's Roulettes in which he played keyboards before transferring to guitar. Among tracks recorded by the quartet alone were a handful of Ballard numbers - including the group's last a-side, 1967's "Help Me Help Myself'. While briefly one of the latter-day Unit Four Plus Two members, Ballard also co-wrote that group's final single, 1969"s psychedelic "3.30", before he and Henrit joined Argent. Ballard's compositions complemented those of leader Rod Argent and his confidence was boosted when his "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You" was among the group's hits. Three Dog Night reached the US Top 10 with a version of Ballard's "Liar" in 1972. After this lucrative syndication, Ballard remained with Argent for a further two years before showing his hand as a soloist. However, as neither Russ Ballard nor Winning attracted sufficient attention, he elected to concentrate on writing adult-orientated material. He was especially favoured by America, whom he serviced well into the 80s with accessible catchy compositions. Other notable beneficiaries of his efforts were Hot Chocolate ("So You Win Again") and Rainbow ("Since You've Been Gone" and "I Surrender"). Ringo Starr recorded another Ballard composition "As Far As You Go" on his 1983 album, Old Wave. Ballard was also active as a session player for both old associates such as Faith (and his protégé Leo Sayer) and Rainbow's Graham Bonnet as well as newer acquaintances such as Lea Nicholson, Starry Eyed And Laughing and Phoenix. By 1979, he returned to the fray as a recording artist with At The Third Stroke (with its "You Can Do Voodoo" single), which, like its Barnet Dogs and Into The Fire follow-ups, was a likeable collection that sold enough to make further Ballard product a worthwhile exercise. The second album called Russ Ballard was issued in 1984. Its singles and those on its successor, Fire Still Burns, were promoted on video with the artist still wearing the sunglasses that have been his visual trademark since treading the boards with the Daybreakers. A belated rise to a qualified prominence in his own right is not out of the question, but Ballard's fame in the early 90s rests on interpretations of his material by others. In recent times, the Little Angels, Magnum and Kiss have recorded his songs. Kiss had a hit in 1992 with "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You" after Ballard had been commissioned to compose the soundtrack to the 1991 movie, Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey.
